Leicester fans have been left more concerned after Dean Smith’s bizarre claims regarding his players when talking before the Liverpool game.
Dean Smith has said that it would be an ‘achievement’ if the team avoided relegation in this season, and it’s fair to say it hasn’t sat well with the supporters.
The club finished eighth in Premier League last year, just four points away from the Europa Conference League and six points behind the Europa League.
This season, however, has been a huge disappointment with Smith’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers getting sacked in April.
The club brought in defenders Wout Faes in the summer and Harry Souttar and Victor Kristiansen in January, yet their form has continued to dip dramatically.
And even while having the likes of James Maddison, Jamie Vardy, Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans, Smith says he’ll be proud if the Foxes avoided the drop.
🗣 “It’ll be an achievement If we can stay up with the group of players we got.”
Dean Smith is hoping his Leicester City side have enough power to beat the drop 💪 pic.twitter.com/knJLyMVxM4
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 15, 2023
He said: ‘It’ll be an achievement if we can stay up with the group of players that we’ve got and the position they were in.
‘And it would be one that we would be really pleased about afterwards.’
When questioned if he was able to think beyond the end of this campaign, Smith added: ‘No, not at all. I mean, I can’t even think beyond Liverpool at the moment, so I’m just concentrating on that.’
HIS PRESS CONFERENCE
Smith on the challenge of facing in-form Liverpool on Monday Night Football at the King Power Stadium:
“They’ve just won six games on the spin. You look at that and you go, ‘Yeah, it’s a real tough time to face them’. But they haven’t won as many away games as they normally do.
“I think, in the Premier League, they’ve only taken 10 points out of the last 30. So we’ve got to make sure we [put in] a Brighton or a Brentford performance against them and get a result against them.”
On Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s comments that he is expecting Leicester to show added fight after the 5-3 defeat at Fulham intensifying their relegation fears:
“I’m expecting fight but I’m also expecting better quality than we showed in decision-making opportunities [against Fulham].
“It was a crazy game on Monday. It could have been 9-8 with the amount of chances there were for both sides.
“We’ve got to be better defensively, but we we’ve got the find that balance of making sure we don’t detract from our attacking intent as well.
“We need points, we know that, and it’s a home game for us, so hopefully [Klopp] is not disappointed by the fight he sees.”
On playing after their relegation rivals, all of whom are in action on Saturday and Sunday:
“We can’t affect results elsewhere. All we can concentrate on is on ourselves. I’ll take the experiences I’ve had before in this situation and try to give them to the players to help them.”
Smith on James Maddison’s comments that Leicester’s players weren’t hungry enough in the Fulham defeat:
“It’s always hard for players. They are emotional after games when they get asked questions.
“None of the players want to be in the position we’re in at the moment so they are searching for answers themselves, to hopefully appease the supporters as well.
“As I’ve said since I’ve been here, all the lads care, they just show it in different ways.”
On how much the team will need the support of their fans as they continue to fight against relegation against Liverpool:
“We’ve needed them in every game that we have had. They were rightly disappointed at half-time with the scoreline against Fulham, but their support in the second half was magnificent.
“They could see the players were trying, and getting back into the game as well. We will need them, definitely, like we have in the previous home games.”
As mentioned, Leicester fans were left more concerned after Dean Smith’s bizarre claims regarding his players…
@tombone90: Players they’ve got? Should be top half easy 🤣
@Jaymufc4: That’ll fill em with confidence
@IamStim: I was all up for Dean Smith, and still back him but this so not what we want to hear before the most important game in our recent history. Fill the boys full of confidence and lift them up!
@ninety_six96: They don’t realise how infuriating it is when they say this given the performances we’ve had to put up with this season 😬🦊⚽
@OJSLCFC: “With the players we’ve got”. Even Dean knows we’ve got a group of mercenaries who only care about themselves at the club.
@AMunoz_11: What do you mean it’ll be an achievement if you stay lmfao this squad shouldn’t be anywhere near relegation. Embarrzssing
@Official_LCFC: Why has he said this bruh. Brenda 2.0
@_SmackMyPitchUp: Players they’ve got 😂😂
@IrelandCooper: He’s basically saying the squad is shit isn’t he? 😂
@JHogg1994: Sounding the same as Rodgers….
@Todd_Swain: That’s one way of getting the lads up for it …….
@irelandseye1: That’s strange. As a group on paper they should be staying up. He says as a group they should be going down. He obviously doesn’t rate them and if truth be known they probably don’t rate him either.
@DavidDrinkwat15: That’s a fucking scandalous statement to come out with!
@EvertonPage8: That’s not good to hear if you are an Leicester fan
@_carterryan: this is genuinely genius lowering the expectations set on the players might just work out here
@KeslerSZN: They players they’ve got should be staying up?
@privhass: Great so even the manager has given up
@Ginger_Canary: Smith being a pro at morale boosting once again 😂 #ncfc #lcfc
@JamesFinbow: He really does sap all the confidence from people whenever he talks. They shouldn’t even be in trouble with that group of players.
@THLCFC: Not due to the players ability but their attitude
@fcw_12: is this guy okay
@NCFC_Adam: What the fuck man the blokes clueless. Stay up or not, Leicester deserve to go down for employing him
@BriersGary: It’s an achievement because of how shit they’ve been. This language tries to claim they aren’t good enough talent wise. Laughable.
@BaldManReformed: Maddison, Tielemans, Soyoncu, Vardy, Iheanacho, Barnes, Soumare, Pereira, Justin, Evans, Ndidi, Tete, Almost £500m worth of players, for the record Leeds (18th) have a squad worth just over £300m
@leylandCal94: That Leicester team should be nowhere near the bottom
@lcfcben03: Ohh ffs man.
@LeicesterFanTV: WOW ! Deano… what are you doing. This sort of comment maybe TRUE… but WHY OH WHY say it before the Liverpool game. Way to FFS all off !! #Deano #DeanSmith #Lcfc
Why why why why would you say this… ‘with the players we’ve got’… What a great confidence boost to the players and fans hours before a huge match.
Waving the white flag … it maybe true, but WHY SAY IT DEANO !#lcfc #Leicestercity pic.twitter.com/3GCP9LXbkJ
— Leicester Fan Tv (@LeicesterFanTV) May 15, 2023
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